Kazoo



July 2, 1935. D, COHN 2,006,732

KAZOO Filed March 20. 1934 LIVEETOR BY z ATTORNE Y Patented July 2, 1935 UNITED STATES KAZOO David Colin, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to T. Cohn Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 20,

1 Claim.

My invention relates to kazoos. The object of the invention is to provide a kazoo of simple form and by means of which a vibratory or tremolo sound efiect can be produced, under the control of the operator, and preferably by applying one hand to the bell of the kazoo and moving it back and forth in relation to the outward end of the bell to produce the vibratory or tremolo effect.

In order to accomplish this result it is necessary to make the bell comparatively large because if the bell is small the vibratory or tremolo effect cannot be accomplished as the movement of the hand in relation to a small bell will have no eiiect upon the sound.

In the drawing forming part of this applica tion,

Figure 1 is an end view of a kazoo embodying my invention and illustrating the method of applying the hand to the open end of the bell to produce the tremolo effect, and

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken on the line 22 of Figure 1 and showing the device on a large scale which is, in fact, larger than the actual device.

In the drawing I have shown a tubular body I, which is usually larger at the end 2 to which the mouth is applied and tapering to a larger diameter at 3 where the bell is located, and then again tapering in a reverse direction and terminating in the outlet end 4 which is usually smaller in diameter than the mouth end.

Intermediate the ends of the tubular body there is formed an opening 5, preferably at about the location of the major diameter 3 of the tubular body, and usually this is nearer the mouth end of the tubular body than the discharge end, although the location may be varied without departing from the scope of my invention. Surrounding this aperture there is attached to the tubular body a cylindrical member or nipple 6 having an end wall I which is attached to the' wall of the tubular member by soldering or by a rolled joint, or any other means. This wall has an opening 8 registering with the opening 5 to allow the air to vibrate through these openings.

The flared or bell member 9 having one end In open, is provided with a neck portion H, and this is usually detachably secured to the nipple 6 by screwing it into the same and for this purpose the nipple 5 has a rolled thread it and the member II has a corresponding rolled thread l3 fitting into the first mentioned thread, so that the bell member may be screwed into and out of the nipple 6. The diaphragm I4 which may con- 1934, Serial No. 716,490

sist of a piece of parchment or other thin vibratory material, is generally secured or pasted to a ring or washer [5 which latter seats against the wall I and holds the diaphragm in position across the openings 5, 8, so that the air in the tubular member may act upon the diaphragm.

The nipple 6 is shown as provided with a wall I6 extending across one end and having an offset portion I! which is provided with a central aperture I8 in line with the apertures 5, 8, and 10 preferably of smaller diameter. When the parts are assembled the diaphragm and the washer to which it is attached are inserted in the member 6 to rest against the wall 7, whereupon the member ll of the bell is screwed into 15 the nipple 6, so that the wall 16 presses the washer and the edge of the diaphragm against the wall 1.

In using the device the mouth is applied to the end 2 of the tubular member, and the sounds 20 are made by the operator and they enter the tubular member the same as with an ordinary kazoo, so that the diaphragm is vibrated by the sound Waves to give offa sound peculiar to a kazoo. In order to produce the vibratory or 5 tremolo effect, one hand I9 is placed near the open mouth of the bell and it is moved toward and from this open mouth, fast or slow, and the sound emitted from the kazoo will have a vibratory or tremolo effect in accordance with 30 the speed of movement of the hand.

In order to. accomplish this efiect the bell 9 must be of such diameter in relation to the tubular member I as will permit the tremolo effect to be produced. In a device made in accordance 5 with the proportions shown in Figure 2, the bell is relatively large and the proportions are such as to permit the tremolo effect to be produced. It is possible to reduce the size of the bell below that shown in Figure 2 to a limited extent, but 40 where the bell is made very small as in prior devices, the movement of the hand in relation to the open end of the bell has no eifect on the sound produced, whereas with the larger bell the tremolo effect in a pronounced degree may 45 be produced. I am not aware of the exact reason why the larger bell permits the accomplishment of this result, but my experiments show that with a relatively large bell the efiect is definite and pronounced, whereas with a small bell no such Having described my invention, what I claim A kazoo having an elongated, tubular body portion open at both ends, and having an aper- 5 ture intermediate its end, a diaphragm extending across said aperture to be vibrated by the air in said tubular member, and a nipple associated with said tubular member and surrounding said aperture, the nipple terminating in a flaring open bell, the open end of said bell being adapted to be covered by the hand, and the bell being sufficiently large in relation to said tubular member to permit tremolo sound efiects to be produced by moving the hand in proximity to the open end of the bell.

DAVID COHN. 

